


It's a Matter of Perspective

by Elerrina174



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, MGiT, Modern Girl in Thedas, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Romance, Secret Crush, Slow Burn, Smut, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-04-20 18:20:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14266875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elerrina174/pseuds/Elerrina174
Summary: When Elisabeth gets hit by a car and dies in her world she wakes up in Thedas with an apparent second chance at life. After she joins the Inquisition she somehow becomes the handsome Commander's assistant. Through all of her blundering she is determined to make her new life work and hopefully not make a complete fool of herself in the process.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as something completely different and then morphed into this so I hope it's still good. Comments and kudos appreciated! Comments are love! Enjoy the story!

Elisabeth walked along the dark streets of New York City. The dog at the end of the leash in front of her pulled her excitedly along behind it. They weaved through the few people walking in the opposite direction with the occasional passerby drawing the dog’s attention enough to stutter it's advance before it would surge forward again. To her left taxis and cars whizzed by onto their destinations and she could hear horns blaring in the distance. The street in front of her was illuminated by buzzing streetlights that flickered occasionally above her.

This was her last dog of the day and once she had returned it to its owner she could go home and relax. She groaned to herself when she remembered that she couldn't relax because she had a test coming up that she needed to study for. She graduated at the end of this semester and then she would be free to work for a while before going back to school. She needed to save some money up so her student loans wouldn't be so crippling. At least that was her plan, she hoped to get a better job than being a dog walker. She loved it but she needed a better paying job. She had to admit she would miss the dogs though, and she liked to think that they would miss her. 

She and the retriever rounded the corner of the street. It was a nice night and more people than usual were out on the streets. Something on the other side of the street caught the dog’s attention and suddenly it jerked Elisabeth off the sidewalk and into the road. She tried to reel the dog in quickly but the leash slipped out of her hand when she tripped in the middle of the road. As she pried herself up off the ground she looked to her left into a glaring set of headlights. The last thing she heard was screeching tires before her world went black.

The next time she awoke she was lying on her back, unable to move. The commotion around her was hard to follow. There were tons of voices and beeps. She had no idea where she was or why she couldn't move or open her eyes. Everyone was speaking in frantic loud voices and she could feel herself being touched and moved.

“She's crashing, get the cart!” 

She didn't know what they were talking about but she didn't really care. She could feel herself slipping back into the peaceful sleep she had awoken out of. She gave into the sensation and let herself drift into the darkness.

Now she was freezing cold. She could feel the chill slipping through her clothes and creeping across her skin. A shiver went through her as she opened her eyes. Wherever she was it was totally dark. She was lying on her back on the ground and a heavy weight was lying across her. When she moved everything felt stiff like it hadn't been used in a while. Her fingers brushed whatever was on top of her and she pushed against it. She fought with it for a moment before shoving the heavy sheet off of herself. Bright sunlight hit her face and she squinted against it. 

When she sat up she heard a scream nearby. A young man was staring at her with terrified wife eyes. He stayed frozen for a moment before running in the opposite direction. She shot a confused look in the direction he ran before she glanced around. She was outdoors surrounded by snow and mountains. On the ground around her lay other blankets. The young man, before he had run away, had been putting the bodies under the blankets on a wagon. He was obviously transporting them so they could be buried. 

Elisabeth didn't know what was going on but she had managed to put enough information together to realize two things. She wasn't in New York City anymore and that the young man had thought she was dead. So how had she ended up on top of a mountain presumed dead? She needed answers, but she wasn't going to get them sitting on the ground. So she stood up slowly, groaning at the stiffness in her joints. 

She looked up when she heard footsteps approaching. The young man followed by another larger man clad in armor rounded the corner. The armored man drew a sword from his side and stepped toward her. He swung for her head and she barely had time to dodge it. She ended up back on the ground and frantically scrambled backward away from her attacker.

“Stop! Wait! Please!” She put her hands up to protect herself from the next swing.

He froze on his downward stroke and glared at her.

“Why are you trying to kill me?! And why are you using a sword to do it?!” She asked as she cowered away from him in fright.

“What?!” His face flickered briefly with confusion before it went back to a murderous expression. “You will not trick me demon!” He started to swing again.

“I'm not a demon!!” She yelled as she squeezed her eyes shut. 

He stopped again and eyed her, “You are a demon possessing a corpse!”

“What?! No, I'm a person, a normal human!”

The man with the sword turned to the other young man, “Are you certain she was dead?”

“That's not my job sir, I just collect the bodies.”

He thought for a moment, “So what she's saying could be true.” He looked back to Elisabeth who peeked up at him through her fingers. He sheathed his sword and stepped forward to offer her his hand. “I'm sorry my lady, I didn't mean to frighten you.” He helped her up off the ground.

“Why did you think I was dead? And a demon?” She brushed herself off.

“You were with the other bodies miss.” Answered the young man.

“Yeah, about that… where am I? How did I get here?” She looked between the two men.

“You don't remember?” The armored man knit his eyebrows together.

“I remember walking my last dog of the day. He pulled me into the road and I fell. When I looked up all I saw was a bright light. The next time I woke up I couldn't move and I was surrounded by people and loud sounds. So I must have been hit by a car and then taken to the hospital but I don't remember anything after that. I especially don't know how I got on top of a mountain with a knight and a guy screaming bring out your dead.”

The looks on both of their faces showed that now they were just as confused as she was. 

“Um, maybe you should accompany me to Haven.” The armored man motioned for her to join him as he began down the path in front of them. “I think you must have a head wound. That's why you can't remember anything and are so confused. If you were unconscious that could explain why you were wrongfully put with the dead.”

“So you don't think I'm a demon anymore?” She couldn't believe she had to ask that question.

“No, you're too uh… normal.”

“Well, there's a first time for everything. I'm Elisabeth by the way.” She stopped and offered him her hand.

“I'm Commander Cullen Rutherford.” He took her hand but he didn't shake it, instead, he bowed over it respectfully. 

She pulled her hand back a little awkwardly. “Um, it's nice to meet you.” She looked around, “Where are we going?”

“To Haven, it's at the bottom of this path.” He motioned down the hill.

“Are there phones there? Or maybe somewhere I could get a car?”

He looked over at her, “I don't know what a phone or a car is. Haven is a small village but it is now the base for the Inquisition. We will take care of you until you are better and can leave on your own if you choose.”

Elisabeth had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Where are we?”

“The Ferelden Frostbacks.”

“And where are those exactly?”

“In Ferelden.” He answered slowly.

“Where's Ferelden?”

“Thedas,” he shot her a weird look.

Elisabeth wasn't an expert but she was ninety-nine percent sure there were no places by that name in her world. 

“Are you alright? You got pale all of a sudden.” The Commander stopped walking and eyed her in concern.

“I'm either crazy, or this is some joke of an afterlife.”

“An afterlife? 

“I think I died.” She said softly.

He stepped away from her, “So you are dead?!”

“No… yes… I don't know. I think I died in my world and somehow ended up here. It's like I got a second chance at life or something.”

“You came here from another world? That could have happened because of the breach.” He stared at the ground in thought for a moment. “Come on, we need to speak with the Herald and other advisors.” He started off back down the path with Elisabeth in tow.


	2. Chapter 2

The Commander sent a messenger on ahead of them so that by the time they made it to what he called the war room it was already full of other people. Elisabeth followed him uncomfortably into the room and listened as he introduced everyone and then explained her situation. It appeared that the young woman directly across from them made the final decisions. She still didn't quite grasp what was going on but it seems that this group, the “Inquisition,” was trying to restore peace to the world and were offering her protection and a place to stay. She willingly accepted as it seemed she had no better options at the moment. If she had truly been given a second lease on life she was going to make the best of it, no matter her circumstances. Currently, they were trying to find a place for her to fit in the organization. 

“What was your job before you arrived here?” The Commander asked.

“I walked dogs.” This got varying looks of confusion from around the room. “But I was also a student, I was in college for pre-vet.”

“What's a vet?”

“It's like a doctor for animals.”

“Well we don't have any horses yet and when we do I hope to get the horse master with them. Do you have any other talents?” The Herald chimed in.

“Uuhhh I can wiggle my nose.” She offered, before demonstrating.

The Commander was watching her with an amused expression, “You look like a nug.” 

Elisabeth frowned, she didn't know what a nug was but it didn't sound flattering. “Well, where I'm from it's not usually considered a talent but here it might be. I can read and write.”

“Now that is actually useful.” The Commander smirked at her.

“Commander, didn't you mention that you may need an assistant to help with paperwork?” The Herald questioned.

“Yes, that would be a huge help. How does that sound?” He directed his question toward Elisabeth.

“Sounds good to me.” She smiled.

“Great, you can start tomorrow. I'll have one of my men show you to an empty bed just for the night and then tomorrow we can settle your living conditions.” He nodded and that seemed to signal the end of the meeting. 

Elisabeth was shown to a cabin and given some new clothes. They only gave her dresses and she wished she had some pants and shirts as well, she wasn't much of a dress girl. She figured she could ask for a change in wardrobe later. She was exhausted and quickly climbed into bed. The Commander had told her to meet him down by the training field at dawn but she wasn't sure she would wake up by then. She didn't know how they told time here when they didn't have any clocks. 

She woke up the next morning to light streaming through her window, she sat up and stretched as she remembered what had happened. She started to get up when she froze, she turned to glance out the window behind her and realized that the sun was already up, which meant she was late. She stood and hastily dressed before running out the door.

Elisabeth sprinted down the steps of Haven two at a time. She was so late for her first day working for the Commander. She jogged quickly along Haven’s paths, dodging people with a polite chain of “excuse me” constantly leaving her mouth. When she made it down the first flight of steps she was already out of breath. She made her way to the window of a nearby cabin and looked in at her reflection. She quickly combed her fingers through her hair trying to untangle the knots. She licked a couple of fingers and smoothed down some stray hairs before wiping some dirt from her face. She stood and took a deep breath as she pulled her dress into some semblance of presentability before she walked down the last couple of steps.

“Commander,” she panted as she came up behind him. He turned and regarded her with mild curiosity as he glanced over her disheveled form. “Sorry I'm late, you guys don't have alarm clocks and I did die yesterday.”

“It's fine Elisabeth, I understand.”

“Oh please, Elisabeth is too long you can just call me Lizzie.” He raised his eyebrow at her, “Or whatever you'd like to call me.”

“Alright, Lizzie, follow me.” They weaved their way through the training men to two tents that sat in front of Haven’s walls. “This is my tent,” he gestured to the one they were standing in front of. “And you will be staying in the one next to it.” He led her into the tent now. “As long as you make your presence known, you are welcome to come and go as you please. I simply need someone to assist me with everyday things, especially paperwork and organization. I already have a pile on my desk so you can start with that.”

He turned to leave, “Is there any specific way you want everything organized?” She asked.

“Do what you think is best and we’ll go from there.” He left the tent now, leaving Lizzie alone with the intimidating stack of papers on his desk.

She sat down uncertainly and eyed the mound of documents in front of her. She had no idea where to begin, she had never done this sort of work before. She picked up a few of the forms and leafed through them. She didn't understand half of the things they were talking about but each one had a signature at the bottom from the sender. So she decided to start there and organize everything in alphabetical order. 

She lit a few more candles to brighten the tent further and then went to work. It was tedious to go through every document but she lightened the mood by humming some tunes softly to herself. She was halfway through the stack when the tent flap opened and the Commander strode in.

“Lizzie, I have another-”

“Nooo!” Lizzie got up and frantically grabbed at the papers that were being blown out of their piles by the breeze the Commander was letting in.

“Oh, sorry.” He gave her a lopsided smile, “I hope I didn't set you back too much. Here,” he handed her another paper. “I have another form that needs to be filled out, please just add it to one of your piles.” He looked over her work, “It looks much better already.” He smiled, “Oh and sorry about that.” He added as he once again left the tent.

Lizzie sighed as she looked at the papers which had been blown around the tent and the new one in her hand. This meant that she had to start over. She groaned as she went back to work. When she finally had all of the papers sorted she placed something on top of each of the piles to hold them down while she went to dinner.

They had told her that they served meals every day in the tavern and she had been given a quick tour of Haven so she luckily knew where it was. The only reason she knew it was dinner time was because it had gotten considerably darker and quieter. The tavern was packed full of loud talkative people. Lizzie pushed her way through the bodies to an empty table in the back corner. She sat quietly by herself and ate her dinner. She was surprised when someone put their bowl down across from her.

“May I join you?” The Commander gave her a friendly smile.

“Of course... sir?” She didn't know what she was supposed to call him but he smiled at that so she pulled her things closer to her side of the table to make room for him.

“How are you settling in? This can't be easy for you. Do you at least like your new job?”

“Haven is a little cold, you guys have no technology, they only gave me dresses to wear and I can't go to the bathroom without being in danger of catching some infectious disease but other than that everything is great. I mean on the bright side I have been given another life. The works not so bad either.” Someone bumped into the back of her chair and she jerked forward before giving the Commander a tiresome glance. “Did I mention the people?”

He chuckled, “You'll get used to them. They’re a little rowdy at times but they are good men. I am sorry about your circumstances and if there is anything I can do to help just let me know. I am glad you at least find the work agreeable. Did you get it all down today? I hope I didn't set you back too much.”

“Thank you, and no, it was fine. You will find all of your papers organized in alphabetical order in stacks on your desk.”

“Perfect, thank you.” He smiled at her again.

After her conversation with the Commander, Lizzie felt a little better about the hand she had been dealt. Maybe her new life here wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hello Flissa, the Commander will take dinner in his tent,” Lizzie said as she came to stand at the bar. 

“Again?” Flissa asked as she turned around to face her.

She shrugged, “He likes to work while he eats.” The Commander and she had fallen into a sort of routine since she had arrived, and she had noticed that the Commander didn't like to be away from his work. So she had started bringing his meals to him in his tent because if she didn't he usually wouldn't eat.

“I assume you'll be taking your dinner there as well?”

“Yes please.” She smiled.

“Alright,” she grabbed two bowls off the counter before turning around and placing them in front of Lizzie. “Here, his dinner is the larger bowl, try not to spill it.”

“That's easier said than done,” She mumbled to herself as she took the bowls. “Thank you.”

She walked out of the tavern and down Haven’s steps. She held the bowls in front of her and balanced them with great care as she made her way toward the training fields. The stairs of Haven had a tendency of being icy and today was no exception. She picked her way down them, glancing at her feet between the bowls to judge her footing. 

As she stepped off the last step she hit a slick spot and her feet slid around beneath her. She managed to avoid falling completely and regained her footing but not before she had dumped half of the soup all down the front of her dress. 

“Hot! Hot! Hot!” Her body jerked away from the burning liquid but it had already soaked into her dress which was now sticking to the front of her.

She fast walked the rest of the way to the Commander’s tent and quickly put the bowls down on his desk. She pulled her dress away from her skin and blew down the top of it. It was too late to save her dress or herself from a burn for that matter. The soup on the other hand was another problem. Most of the soup had been spill onto the ground. She didn't want to go back to the tavern and ask for more food, since food was rationed, to begin with. So she took what was left of her soup and poured it into the Commander’s bowl. 

While she was doing this a messenger came in with a missive for the Commander. She took it and thanked him before heading out of the tent to find the Commander. He was standing near the training field overseeing the men's training. 

“Commander,” he turned around, “A missive came for you.” She handed the paper to him. “I skimmed it, and it's from the Herald about building watchtowers in the Hinterlands. Oh, I also got your dinner.”

“Thank you,” he smiled at her and looked at the paper briefly before his eyes lingered back to her. “Lizzie, you smell like soup.”

She cringed, “I wouldn't know why.”

She followed him back to his tent, trying to air out her dress along the way. He entered the tent and took a deep breath as he sat down at his desk. Lizzie made her way in as well and sat on his cot across from him. She watched as he took off his gloves and began to eat. 

“Commander,” Captain Rylen entered the tent. “Oh, hi Lizzie. How are you lass?” He asked when he noticed her.

“Good, how are you?” She smiled.

“I'm great.” He responded as he smiled back before addressing the Commander again. “Sir, can the men break for dinner?”

“Oh, yes, of course, thank you, Captain.”

The Captain saluted and smiled one more time at Lizzie before leaving. The Commander was looking at her funny.

“What?” 

“You smile a lot whenever he is around.”

“Really? I guess I just like him. He's nice and has been a quick friend.”

He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. “Did you already eat?” He motioned to the empty bowl still on his desk.

“Um, something like that.”

He didn't look convinced but he didn't push the subject. “Could you take notes for me while I read over this letter.”

“Of course, sir.” She quickly grabbed some paper and a quill. She had discovered that writing with a quill was a lot harder than it looked. She was constantly covered in ink and her fingertips were stained black.

The Commander read through the letter and Lizzie made not of everything that he mentioned. At the end he had her make a list of men to go and the supplies they would need.

“Lizzie, could you run this to Threnn for me. We will need the supplies as quickly as she can get them.”

“Yes, sir.” She took the paper he had just finished scanning from his hand.

“And on your way back stop by the tavern and get some dinner. I think it would be best if you ate it there so you don't spill it on yourself again.” He gave her a knowing smile as he walked past her and out of the tent.

Lizzie groaned, she had barely been there a week and her clumsy nature was already shining through. If this continued the Commander would soon regret agreeing to have her as his assistant. She pushed aside her embarrassment and went to deliver the notes to Threnn before eating at the tavern. When she got back, the men were done for the day and the Commander was nowhere in sight. She had some things to finish in his tent so she knocked on the frame and entered when he called out. When she entered she found the Commander and Captain Rylen in the middle of a discussion. 

“Oh, sorry I didn't mean to interrupt.” She began to back out of the tent.

“Lizzie,” the Commander held up his hand to stop her movements. “It's fine I said you could come in. Please, do what you need to.”

She smiled uncomfortably at the two men before walking to the other side of the desk and beginning to sort through some papers there. At first, she tried to listen to their conversation but it was a boring discussion about the troops so she tuned them out and hummed quietly to herself. 

She reached across the desk to grab another paper and accidentally knocked half of the stack in front of her onto the ground. She mumbled under her breath as she knelt to pick them up. She had to crawl part way under the desk to reach some of the furthest papers. As she sat back up, she misjudged where the edge of the desk was and banged the back of her head.

“Oww!” She sat up holding her sore head. Both of the men had stopped talking and were now looking at her in concern.

“Are you alright?” The Commander asked from his seat next to her.

“Yeah, I just hit my head.” She winced.

“Here, let me see.” He gently grabbed her head and rubbed his fingers over the bump that was beginning to form there. “I think you'll be ok.” He said with a smile as he released her.

After that Lizzie quickly excused herself from the tent. She needed a good night's sleep after the day she had.


	4. Chapter 4

Lizzie trailed after the Commander and Herald as they walked through Haven discussing Inquisition business. She was frantically taking notes and scurried quickly behind them with her face buried in her clipboard as she scribbled down anything of importance. 

It didn't come as much of a surprise to her when she faceplanted going up the stairs toward the Chantry. She fell forward going up the slippery steps and banged her shin on the rock stairs. She bit her tongue on a yelp that threatened to escape her mouth and hastily popped back up, hoping the Commander hadn't noticed. However, he turned around before she could scramble up the last couple of steps.

He gave her an odd look, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I'm fine.” She dismissed his concern quickly with a shrug and a smile.

He glanced over her, “You dress is all dirty.”

Lizzie groaned as she brushed the slush from the front of her dress, “I’m not cut out for dresses.”

The Commander smirked and step towards her as he offered her his hand.

She glanced at it with uncertainty, “What's that for?”

“So you don't fall trying to walk up the rest of the steps.” 

She wanted to be embarrassed by the situation but years of living life as a klutz meant she had almost no shame when it came to matters of clumsiness, and the kind, unjudging, if not slightly amused look in his eyes helped that much more. So she took his hand a little hesitantly and he helped her up the rest of the steps. When she was safely at the top he released her and turned back to the Herald. 

“Sorry for the delay Herald, please continue.”

The Herald waved a hand at him dismissively, “It's fine we were done anyway. I will see you later Commander.” She smiled at both of them before turning to leave.

Lizzie watched her go before looking back at the Commander.

“I have some things to take care of.” He said as he addressed her.

“Alright, let me just change and then-”

“It's alright, you can have the afternoon off.” She opened her mouth to argue but he continued before she had the chance to speak. “You've been working very hard since you arrived and you deserve a break. Besides, I don't really need you for the errands I have to run and the paperwork can wait. Go talk to Threnn and get those pants you've been wanting.” He smiled at her and turned to leave before she could object.

Lizzie stood a little confused for a moment but then shrugged. If he wanted to give her the afternoon off who was she to argue. She tucked her clipboard under her arm and crossed the short distance to where Threnn stood. She convinced the Quartermaster to let her trade in her many hand me down dresses for some pairs of pants and extra shirts. None of the clothes she got fit her correctly but she made do and was just happy to finally have her legs covered. She could now move freely without being afraid of accidentally flashing someone.

She was on her way to drop off the last of her dresses when she almost ran into someone. Varric’s loud voice was the only thing that alerted her to his presence. She stopped abruptly and had to wrestle with her stack of dresses to keep them from falling on his head. She could barely see him over the pile and peered around it apologetically as he made a comment about almost being run over. 

“You're that dead girl aren't you?" He said once he could see her face.

“Yup, that's me, zombie Elisabeth.” She smirked as she was amused by her own joke.

“Oooo zombie, that's a new one. That wouldn't be too bad for a nickname.” The dwarf tapped his chin in thought.

“A nickname? Already?” She questioned.

“That's one of my many talents. Varric Tethras,” he offered her his hand but quickly drew it back when he realized she couldn't shake it. “I'm also a rogue and wonderful storyteller, among other things.” He winked at her as he turned to leave. “We’ll have to see about that nickname for you.”

Lizzie watched him go before shaking her head and continuing on to give her clothes to Threnn. It was a nice day, at least for Haven, and she decided it would be best to stay outside and soak up the sun's rays while they were available. She opted to walk around Haven and just enjoy the fresh air. It was nice to be outside enjoying the day for once instead of crammed inside a stuffy tent behind a desk. All of the paperwork she had to do was already getting old.

She was walking along one of Haven’s paths lost in thought when she stumbled upon a little boy crying next to the path. He tried to hide his tears as she went by but she could still hear him sniffling. She was a little surprised to see him. She knew that there were a few children in Haven but she had never seen any of them before. Probably because their parents kept them locked up in their houses to keep them safe. 

“Are you okay?” She asked as she stepped closer to the child who couldn't have been more than seven. 

“My toy,” he sniffled “It's stuck in the tree.”

Lizzie followed his finger up to where he was pointing at what looked to be a makeshift kite stuck in a nearby tree. She imagined that since it was such a nice day this was a rare occasion where the boy was allowed outside to play. He seemed very distraught by the loss of his toy and she knew she had to do something about it.

“I'll get it for you.” She heard herself say before she had really thought about what that would entail. But the smile that this brought to the little boy’s face meant there was no going back. 

As she looked at the tree she was thankful she had finally gotten pants as it looked like she would need to climb the tree in order to retrieve the kite. It was a good distance up in the pine tree, stuck far out on one of the branches. The climb was going to be uncomfortable but she knew she had to do it. So, shooting one last reassuring smile at the boy she took a deep breath and began to climb. It was slow going but she managed to reach the kite without too many problems. 

She wiggled the kite free of the tree’s grasp and tossed it down the waiting child, who shot her a huge smile and thanked her before skipping happily away. She thought the hard part was over but she was wrong. She became to try and climb down the tree but somehow it's always easier to get up than it is to get down. She had only just begun when she heard a low chuckle behind her. The sound startled her and she temporarily lost her grip on the tree which made her slide down a little before she latched back on.

“Are you alright?” The chuckle was replaced with a familiar slightly concerned voice.

She glanced down over her shoulder to find the Commander at the base of the tree looking up at her. “I'm fine, I-” she gasped as she slid a little further down the tree.

“Are you sure?” He didn't sound convinced.

“Yeah, I got myself up I should be able to get myself down.” She wasn't convinced either.

“Just jump, I'll catch you.” He outstretched his arms beneath her.

She huffed out an uncomfortable laugh, “No thank you, that won't be necessary. I'm fine, really.” She once again started to descend the tree slowly.

However, it didn't take long for her clumsiness to get the better of her again and this time she couldn't catch herself as she fell through the branches of the tree. She landed with a soft thud on something that was not the hard ground. She slowly cracked open her eyes and met the amber eyes of the Commander who was looking down at her with concern.

“Are you alright?” He knit his eyebrows together as she shifted her weight in his arms.

“You caught me.” She stated a little dazed.

He huffed out a laugh with a smile, “Yes I noticed, but you didn't answer my question.”

“Oh, yeah I'm fine.” She reassured him.

“Good,” he smiled at her as he gently placed her back on her feet. “I can't have my assistant hurting herself already. Then I'd have to find a new one, and that would be too much work.”

She smirked at his teasing joke as she brushed the pine needles off of her clothes and out of her hair. 

“It's a good thing you got those pants when you did.” He stated as he glanced over her. She met his eyes as they traveled up her body and he froze before quickly looking away. “I-I-I mean, you could have hurt yourself or-or…” he trailed off as he looked anywhere but her. 

Lizzie regarded him curiously, she could have sworn she saw his cheeks turn red. He cleared his throat to help regain his composure as he changed the subject. 

“What were you doing up in that tree anyway?” He asked as they began to walk towards the gates. 

“A little boy got his kite stuck in the tree so I thought I should help him. He was very happy to have his kite back.”

“I'm sure he was.” He smiled, “It was nice of you to help him. I can't imagine what it would be like to grow up here during these times. I mean the children here barely leave their houses now. That would have been torture for me when I was a boy.”

“I can't imagine it either. My world was very different from this one. Not to say there wasn't war and hardships but where I grew up we never had to deal with anything like this.”

“This all must be kind of a culture shock for you. But you've adjusted very well Lizzie.” He gave her a warm smile. “Now, back to work, and please keep the tree climbing to a minimum.” 

Lizzie just shook her head and laughed as she made her way into his tent to work.


End file.
